Newcastle United are “genuinely interested” in signing Paris Saint-Germain striker Hugo Ekitike, as transfer insider Dean Jones provides GIVEMESPORT with a potential reason why the St. James’ Park outfit could sign the centre-forward.
With the winter transfer window soon upon us, Eddie Howe hopes to add more firepower to an exciting Magpies frontline in 2024.
Newcastle have experienced an injury and suspension crisis in recent months, with current strikers Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson struggling for fitness during the 2023/24 season. The Tyneside outfit hope to eradicate these issues in the coming weeks but could turn to the transfer window for help when the market opens on 1 January 2024.
Newcastle’s interest in Ekitike
Newcastle’s interest in Ekitike returns to the 2022 summer transfer window, where they looked set to acquire the talented marksman’s signature. In June 2022, multiple sources revealed that the Magpies had agreed to sign the young French striker in a deal worth £39.5m.
The Premier League outfit looked to have beaten Borussia Dortmund to Ekitike’s signature, who would have spearheaded Newcastle’s attack alongside Wilson under Howe. After a fee had been agreed, it was just a matter of the 21-year-old signing a contract at St. James’ Park before eventually being announced as a Magpies player.
But negotiations between Ekitike and the Tyneside club proved challenging, with a deal never reaching completion. One month later, in July 2022, PSG confirmed the signing of Ekitike in a deal worth €35m (around £30m) plus add-ons.
The former France U20 international hoped to make an impression at the Parc des Princes and break into a glittering frontline that included Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe. However, the Reims-born starlet scored just four goals in 32 appearances in his debut campaign for the Ligue 1 giants, struggling to produce anything of note in the French capital.
During the 2023/24 campaign, Ekitike has played just eight minutes of football in one substitute appearance in PSG’s opening weekend Ligue 1 home stalemate with FC Lorient. However, Newcastle could offer the centre-forward a way back to regular first-team football.
According to Football Insider, Newcastle could sign Ekitike on loan during the 2024 winter transfer window. With Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani arriving in the French capital during the summer, the out-of-favour striker must seriously consider the option. The same report claims that West Ham United could also move for Ekitike, hinting that Newcastle could face competition for his signature.
Dean Jones on Hugo Ekitike to Newcastle
Jones claims that the fact that Ekitike rejected Newcastle in 2022 is unlikely to go against him if they choose to pursue a move for the young striker. The journalist has hinted there is concern at St. James’ Park that they could be left short in the attack in 2024 and are hoping to bolster their options. Jones told GIVEMESPORT:
“The situation around Ekitike is interesting because Newcastle still genuinely interested him. They had a long-standing interest in him previously, and I don’t think the fact that he didn’t choose them last time around will especially go against him or anything if they choose to pursue this avenue. I think that there is a concern at Newcastle about being left short in attack in the new year, and I think that they’re starting to look towards ways that they could reinvent that attack or at least bolster it up. Since Ekitike is not getting gametime at PSG, he’s emerging as a player they’ve got well-sourced reports on in scouting.”
Newcastle transfer news
Newcastle’s interest in Ekitike isn’t the only transfer story from St. James’ Park, as the winter transfer window opens in January 2024. Earlier this month (14th November), Jones told GIVEMESPORT that the Magpies could look to sign a defensive midfielder and a player versatile enough to cover at centre-back in the upcoming transfer window. The Tyneside outfit had been linked with a switch for Al Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves, but The Athletic’s David Ornstein has claimed the Portugal international is set to remain in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, A Bola has claimed that Newcastle target Ousmane Diomande has committed his future to Sporting CP until the end of the 2023/24 season. The centre-back reportedly has a release clause worth €80m (close to £70m), which could deter any January 2024 approaches.
Jones also told TEAMtalk that Newcastle will monitor Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s situation to improve their attack in the new year. The 26-year-old is heading into the final 18 months of his contract at Goodison Park and could be available for a cut-price fee in 2024. The Toffees want to avoid losing a valuable asset on a free transfer.
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